All the pics of August before our trip to Martha’s Vineyard! This August we finally got some more work done on our basement. First we had to extend the french drain along the third wall.

Then we got a contractor to fix the floor tiles and wallboard and other finishing details. Unfortunately this required a wild goose chase for the matching floor tiles involving trips to tile stores all over Westchester, only to find that the correct tiles were where we’d expected them to be in the first place (Home Depot) and we were led astray by an incorrect sample tile. Sigh. At least everything turned out all right in the end.

The kids finished their weeks at the Rye Nature Center. Here’s Blaine showing off the structure the NITs built. And Sarah showing off the garnet necklace she made using pieces of garnet she found at the quarry.

One day we went to the Glen Island beach in New Rochelle with a new friend from camp. Blaine found this GIANT hermit crab which we figured must have been a released pet.

In other wildlife sightings, we spotted a praying mantis at the library. Is that good luck?

In mid-August we got to spend a little more time with the Merchants on their way back from Canada, before they departed the US to head back to Abu Dhabi. The kids made chocolate truffles together! And we went to Playland.

Also in August the kids did a bunch of other half day camps — they did some Minecraft at Makeinspires, they did art camps at the Rye Arts Center, Sarah did two weeks of rock climbing at the Rock Club, and one week of chess camp! While Sarah was at chess camp Blaine and I did several excursions. First off we visited Philipsburg Manor, a historic manor restored to how it was circa 1750 with working mill.

Blaine impressed me and our tour guide by knowing the name for this tool in the picture below, called a flail, which was used to separate the wheat from the chaff. He said he’d read about it in a book on ancient Egypt.

Another day we went to see some beautiful stained glass at the Union Chapel in Pocantico Hills, with a Rose Window by Matisse and nine other windows by Chagall.

Another day we went and played laser tag!